Terry out for CWC, but Lampard fit ahead of Chelsea trip to Sunderland

Terry out for CWC, but Lampard fit ahead of Chelsea trip to Sunderland

Chelsea captain John Terry has been ruled out for the Blues' foray into the FIFA Club World Cup, with a lingering knee injury preventing him from suiting up this weekend against Sunderland and beyond.

"John Terry will not fly, because the doctor was talking with me, I was talking with John, and because maybe [with] an inflammation, to fly would not be the best solution for him so he will stay. Obviously he will not be [available] tomorrow and he will not go to Japan," Chelsea interim coach Rafa Benitez said.

Daniel Sturridge will also miss this weekend's bout, but the Blues did receive good news in the form of midfielder Frank Lampard passing a fitness test to face the Black Cats on Saturday. The England international has been out of action since suffering a recurrence of a calf injury in the 2-1 Champions League defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in October.

"We had three players injured before. [Daniel] Sturridge has been training but it's too early for him so he will not go to Sunderland. We will fly from Sunderland and see if we can do something for Japan. Frank Lampard has been training today, he's in the squad for Sunderland and he will fly if everything's fine to Japan too."

Chelsea will face either Ulsan Hyundai or Mexican power Monterrey in its Club World Cup semifinal on Dec. 13.